A good friend from college/old roommate lives in Montana, right next to Glacier National Park. When my our other friend/roommate, who lives in Australia, was going to visit her, I booked tickets and we had a lovely reunion in one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been!
I went to Turkey! And (not so) shockingly, it was amazing. We stayed in Istanbul, a beautiful, friendly city, that wasn’t what I expected, really. Not that I knew what to expect, but it felt much more European than I had imagined. It was fairly reserved–even in the bazaars (spice Bazaar was incredible), the people working the shops weren’t very aggressive, and when they were it was with more of a wry humor. I felt much more at home there than I thought I would–you think of Istanbul as this far off, distant land. And while it is steeped in history, I felt much less foreign than I have other places.
I went with my friend from Los Angeles, Lee. We worked together a few years ago at a talent agency, she became my work wife, and we ended up quitting on the same day (couldn’t be without each other for even a minute). She is a super badass and went to work for Wendy Davis’ campaign in Texas, and since then she’s been traveling around Europe. It was so amazing to see her in that context. She had hiked the Scottish highlands alone, ridden a camel across the Sahara, also alone (well, that was with a tour group, but she was without a companion). Since I last saw her she’s been to dozens of countries, fallen in and out of love, learned a bit of a few languages–all while living out of a backpack.
Istanbul made me want to see more of Turkey, and I left happy with what I’d seen and done, but very aware to really “crack” the city, I’d need to spend much more time there. Which is my biggest problem–weekend trips are nice to see and do new things, but I think there’s a big difference between being a tourist and a traveler, and I think to really have traveled to a place you need to spend a while, set some roots, make some friends. Build a mini life. So while I love quick trips like this, I always leave just wanting more. Not necessarily a bad thing!
The only thing of note that I didn’t photograph was our trip to a Hammam. One of the Turkish woman from our hostel recommended it, and it was both the highlight of the trip and the strangest travel experience I’ve ever had. She warned us it wasn’t a place for tourists, and there was a total language barrier, which made it more confusing but also much more authentic feeling. We arrived and were mimed to undress and go sit in a room with a lot of mini baths in it. After about 45 minutes we thought maybe that was it–just a public place to go and bathe, so we tried to leave. Then about 10 woman came in and took turns washing and scrubbing each other and us. We never knew when it was our turn and kept thinking it was over before it actually was. Then I got sharp looks for using my towel to dry my feet, and ended up having to put my sandals on my wet feet–got me a few blisters, that! I left feeling incredibly clean but not exceptionally relaxed. All in all, a great experience though.
Gareth and I started dating officially on December 18th, 2014. That was the day I arrived back in London, having left just 6 weeks earlier very confused about these strange new feelings I suddenly had for one of my best friends.
London, before Cornwall
Though confused is a bit of an exaggeration, because what I really felt was pretty sure we’d make it work despite the crazy distance, so mostly I just felt happy and impatient for it to be real.
I spent my first Christmas ever away from my family, instead with his in Cornwall. Gareth made all my favourite things and his family were so welcoming and lovely, even after being told his “friend” would be staying and instead had an incredibly loved up new couple on their hands.
For NYE we rented a house his family have been renting since he was born that is on its own little island, and all our friends came down and we had the best time. It was a dream.
